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NZ First has broken ranks with its coalition partners over digital driver’s licences, warning that digital-only ID systems could become “coercive or insecure.” · All six parties in Parliament, including NZ First, supported the Government’s Regulatory Systems (Transport) Amendment Bill last month, which expands the definition of a licence to include both electronic and physical versions. Associate Transport Minister James Meager stressed at the…

This spicy vegetarian pie is a lovely end of the week meal or wholesome weekend lunch for cooler days. · Don’t skip the jalapeño drizzle, it’s a firm favourite in my home and good also for jazzing up roasted vegetables and soups.  · Ingredients · For the bean base · - 2 tbsp butter, ghee or oil - 2 onions, finely chopped - 2 red or orange peppers, diced - 3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped - 1 tbsp dried oregano - 1 ½ tsp ground…

It is easy to imagine how it could happen. A petrel, flying east from the Indian Ocean at the end of the Austral winter, makes landfall at New Zealand’s southern Codfish Island/Whenua Hou. Tired from its long journey, the petrel seeks refuge in the burrow of a green kākāpō: a critically endangered flightless species that is the world’s fattest parrot. · If the seabird intrudes when the kākāpō is primed to breed, the male parrot may attempt to…

As of 1 September, Sweden no longer recommends Covid-19 vaccination for children unless an individual medical assessment finds they are at increased risk of severe disease. · Even then, it is only available with a doctor’s prescription. · Adults are eligible for a single dose only if they are 75 and older, or belong to defined risk groups. · It is a strikingly cautious policy — yet in Sweden, there is no sense of crisis. Public health officials…

A new Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll shows overwhelming public support for a law to cap annual local council rate hikes, with 64 percent of voters in favour and just 22 percent opposed. · Support crossed every political, regional, gender, and age demographic, including a majority of Labour, Green, and Te Pāti Māori voters. · Asked whether they supported the government introducing a rates cap law, voters backed the idea by a margin of nearly 3:1. …

A leaked Health NZ strategy paper reveals plans to reduce graduate nurses’ working hours and slash clinical training, prompting warnings from the nurses’ union that the agency is “gaming” the numbers to give the illusion of progress while undermining care standards and pushing new nurses abroad. · Minimum working hours for new nurses are being cut from 0.8 to 0.6 full-time equivalent (FTE), meaning three days a week now qualifies as a…

As night falls in the rainforests, orangutans climb into the canopy to construct intricate tree nests, displaying remarkable ingenuity. · These comfy platforms are carefully engineered beds, providing warmth, comfort, protection from predators, and even reduce mosquito bites. · Scientists have long wondered how young orangutans learn to master such complex architecture. Recent findings reveal that they acquire this skill through close…

Infrastructure maintenance - Critical need for Rock Supply · There are past examples of where government has taken actions to reduce the effects of flooding and other types of natural disasters on communities after major weather related events have occurred. · One such example is the Lower Waikato Flood Protection Scheme which was put in place after the 1958 flood, by the then government, to not only protect the community and farmers from…

The Government plans to expand police powers to collect and retain information about people in public, but is offering few details, raising concerns about privacy, legality and surveillance overreach. · Police Minister Mark Mitchell says new laws are coming to “make the country safer,” but declined to specify what will change or when. Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster has been consulted, but he also declined to provide further details. ·…

A new breath-based sensor from researchers at Penn State could soon offer an easy, pain-free, quick way to diagnose diabetes. The sensor was created through a technique that basically toasts a polymer until it turns into porous graphene. · According to the Centers For Disease Control (CDC), out of the 38 million people who have diabetes, about one in five don't even know they have the condition. When it comes to those who have prediabetes,…